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EP 804 2004 and 2006 Alsatian Riesling Tasting

Gary gets back to the Thunder Saddle after a very disappointing Jets loss. He tastes 2 vintages of Riesling from Alsace, a region that is underrepresented in many wine circles.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2006 Schlumberger Riesling Les Princes AbbesAlsace Riesling
2004 Leon Beyer Riesling Escaillers Alsace Riesling

Links mentioned in todays episode.


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luca bercelli

89/100

line of the day – ‘I reckon one day we’re going to have rock juice, because we want minerality in our bodies’

I actually laughed out loud at 17.21 – let’s face it, Gary is a funny guy

Tags: alsace, France, review, Video, white, wine, wines

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  • Anonymous

    Are you going to the D.C. event?

    ________________________________

  • Tau_Digamma

    Hey Gary,
    This was a great classic episode. Pure wine nerd stuff. Loved it.
    QOTD 1: Alsace is one of my favorite white wine regions (along with Campania) but I couldn't really put a number on how many I've had. Plus I drink stuff like Sylvaner and Gewurztraminer from there too so that makes it a little more difficult.
    QOTD 2: That's tough. Blue Moon and Swiss Cheese.

  • gabrielpaley

    coffee with a little milk and entenmann's coffee cake…sitting around the table after a good meal discussing/arguing with my family about whatever…

  • gabrielpaley

    coffee with a little milk and entenmann's coffee cake…sitting around the table with my family after a good meal.

  • todd

    I just drank a '06 Preiss-Zimmer Brand Riesling on the weekend… stunning.
    My cof-fay is a constant regular input and I like my latte e cafe with biscotti. Black cat is choice espresso from Intelligentsia…

  • Dr.Scott

    Body shop: Yes, my grandfather taught welding there. While I was slaving in the chem labs. Great guy, a real fireball. Miss him.

    Alsatian Reislings: 10-15 in the past year. Great varietal but I find them to be all over the board in quality, and the availability here isn't consistently great.

    Vanilla latte with black cherry Emmi yogurt and a hunk of rosemary/sea salt sourdough.

    Dr.Scott

  • John__J

    qotd coffee. i seem to pair it w most anything, for better or worse.

    love seeing the spotlight on Alsace.
    for something unique see if you can find Domaine Schoffit's chasselas outta Alsace. A barely heard of grape & Schoffit does just about the best chasselas outta france year in & out. Really affordable too.

  • Favorite non-wine beverage? Orange Juice. Specifically Simply Orange juice. And disgusting as it sounds, whenever I crave orange juice, I also crave pickles. So pickles and orange juice. It's a pretty amazing combo.

  • I am with you Gary. Go Saints!!! Cant stand all these UT fans here in TN wanting ole peyton”finger licking good” manning to win. F em. Hope the saints dominate! 🙂

    QOTD: Its just hard to beat a good medium steak with an awesome cabernet. Just my favorite!! Although a wheat beer and sloppy joes earlier this week was quite the suprising combo!! jason

  • bigtootles

    QOTD: Definatly a big glass of Orange Juice with lots of pulp. If you can't chew it, it's not OJ.

  • LurkerNoMore

    Great episode…I LOVE Alsacian Riesling! Best I ever had was a 2004 Albert Boxler Brand.
    QTD: glass of cold non-fat milk with mallomars.

  • John Santamaria

    QOTD1: I have never tried any Alsace Rieslings. Have had many Rieslings from the NY Finger Lakes region and also Germany but no French yet.

    QOTD2: Boring answer but my favorite non-wine beverage has to coffee. Whether it is hot or iced I drink 3-4 cups every day although not for the reason many assume. I always drink Decaf because I am not looking for a pick me up, I just enjoy sipping on coffee. No specific food pairing, coffee goes great with everything.

  • Benj

    Big fan of Alsatian Riesling, when I'm in the mood for a drier style. Probably had half a dozen or so over the past year! Great episode, loved the focus and that you got back into it despite, of course, the tragic Jets loss 🙁

  • I love the classic WLTV episodes like this one, couple of wines around a theme, a little education. Nothing like this to break you out of a rut. Even as a Patriots fan I wanted to see the Jets win this one, but what can you do, now I want the Saints to take it.

    South Brunswick High School, 2005… we had a an autoshop class, several I think. May be a Jersey thing though.

    Alsatian Whites. I've probably had 2 dozen total, maybe 5 Rieslings. In fact the last wine I had was an Alsatian Riesling, Tuesday night, I don't remember which one it was, but it was good. This is actually the intersection of two categories that I'm quite fond of, where I have less experience. I agree with you entirely on Riesling in general, with the possible exception of White Burgundy I thing these are the most interesting and complex white wines, though the best I've had have been from the Mosel, how about a German Riesling episode in the near future? On the other side of that, I've had some awesome Alsatian whites, though the ones that have impressed me most have been Pinot Blanc and Gewurtz, the Rieslings have been by and large above average to good but nothing spectacular.

    QOTD – I have two… fresh brewed iced green tea with awesome Asian cuisine and Grand Marnier with whatever I'm having after dinner – dessert, cheese, chocolate.

    P.S. check out my blog, I haven't updated in awhile but I've got some works in progress, bubbles, a followup on Tuscany, blind-tasting and preconceptions, most of these should be up in a couple days.

  • Richie

    Good show. I'm thinking yes when it comes to Alsation Riesling. Maybe not the best place for value but the wines in that mid level range rock the house.

    QOTD: Root Beer

  • rieslingrich

    Cmon Gary, No mention of GERMAN rieslings !?!? Pair Blue cheese and Auslese.
    Good show, not personally fond of dry rieslings Do a show on Germans and throw
    in a Hof troken, or half dry. Wine Spectator has Germany with the highest rated
    wines in the WORLD in wine tasted last year!! 10% in 95-100 pts and 53% in 90-94 pts.

  • jiggerz

    First time I've dropped a comment. Love WLTV, been watching for over 2 years now. I haven't had an Alsatian yet but I do have the 2007 Trimbach Riesling in the cellar. I think it was #54 on Wine Spectators top 100 for 2009. Great show as always!

    QOTD: Allagash White ale with brats and kraut!

  • Ozzy

    Sorry to see your Jets loss Gary, I wanted a Vikings Jets Super Bowl I m from Minn. and was rooting for the Vikings huge Vikings fan so I to am pretty down in the dumps the week.

    QOTD: Fav non wine beverage would have to be any dark beer the darker the better, coffee, and good old fashion water.

  • Definitely either my morning coffee with some cereal like cap'n crunch or cinnamon toast crunch….. ORRRRR hot chocolate with chocolate chip cookies.

  • Jon Regan

    Hey Gary – have to agree with rieslingrich, let’s have a German Riesling episode; wines which were more highly valued than Bordeaux in early 1900s according to records of a London wine merchant.
    Also – I know you like to avoid politics but this is something that won’t get you into trouble with your viewers: Help Hugh Johnson’s campaign to stop the destruction of Mosel vineyards by mentioning it on your show:
    http://www.decanter.com/news/290513.html
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fFwUof6wvI&feature=related

    QOTD: coffee

  • Jon Regan

    Gary – I agree with rieslingrich, let’s focus on German Rieslings.
    I know you hate mentioning politics but you could mention the campaign against the High Mosel Bridge, spearheaded by Hugh Johnson, who I’m sure you have enormous respect for.
    He is doing his best to bring this to the attention of the world press but I’ve noticed only a handful of people have even watched this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fFwUof6wvI&feature=related
    powerful quote: “you will never NOT hear traffic in this valley again”
    Here’s his article in a British wine magazine: http://www.decanter.com/specials/293986.html
    Sorry to hijack your comments but I genuinely think wine lovers around the world will be interested in hearing about this – especially those who like Rieslings.
    QOTD: coffee. Wow, is that a popular answer!

  • ironmics

    Gotta be a nice juicy burger or ribeye with an Oregon IPA. I don't go gaga over our pinot like most people do(maybe being surrounded by hundreds of barrels of it all the time wore me out), but I do love our beer.

  • sbbshoe128

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  • leonidych

    QOTD: Eight that I was lately able to jot some notes of:
    Riesling “Le Kottabe” 2006, 12%, Josmeyer, AOC Alsace
    Riesling Bollenburg 2008, 12.5%, Château d'Orschwihr, AOC Alsace
    Riesling 2007, 12.5%, Arthur Metz, AOC Alsace
    Riesling Tradition 2006, 12.5%, Kuentz-Bas, AOC Alsace
    Riesling Réserve 2007, 12.5%, Gustave Lorentz, AOC Alsace
    Riesling Wolfberger 2007, 12%, Domaine Wolfberger, AOC Alsace
    Riesling Château Olwiller 2003, 13%, Domaine Wolfberger, AOC Alsace Grand Cru

    All of them were up to above average but not something I would die for. 🙂

  • leonidych

    Oh, sorry, I just posted a mini-QOTD. As to QOTD per se, it's coffee: any time of the day, even before getting to sleep, with no snacks with it! Well, sometimes with bittersweet chocolate, sometimes with ice-cream, sometimes with flaming sambuca.

  • Without a doubt, frsh oysters on the half shell with a mignette and a super dry sauvignon blanc, preferably sancerre. NO COCKTAIL sauce!

  • jrodenbiker

    I've never considered Riesling from France. I love Riesling, but am still exploring the Pacific Northwest, Germany, and to a smaller extent South America and Australia.

    I have to admit that Yellow Tail Riesling got me into wine (back in, geez, when was that?2001 or 2002? That long ago?). I haven't had Yellow Tail in years. Maybe I should pick one up for nostalgia this weekend.

  • Robinelle

    I've had 5-10 Alsatian Rieslings. They're the best.

    Your next entrepreneurial activity should be manning (sorry) kiosks outside of games with grief counselors. They could have clips of happier times, suggestions of places to go to cheer up and tips for beverages to drink, maybe a cheerleader leading cheers. Maybe punching bags with or without pictures.

    Why don't you have Wesley Walker on your show? He might provide a good perspective.

    QOTD: My favorite non-wine drink is my half carmel truffle coffee half frothed skim milk with cocoa and cinnamon powder and dark chocolate shavings. I've never had food with it. It's a stand-alone drink.

  • jayhitek

    Welcome back!
    QOTD: Beer and Burgs. Beer and dogs. Martini's and apps. Chinese food and water.

  • barwarrior

    A Manhattan and a burger.

  • Ooh…I did not like that opening. Feeling your pain was tough.

    Mini QotD – just a few, but they wer recent

    QotD – Limoncello (I make my own) with after dinner snack

  • J0ERG

    QotD: German hefeweizen (wheat beer) paired w/ Toblerone chocolate.

  • BburgJonathan

    I LOVE ALSACE RIESLING!!!!! THE GOOD ONES ARE TO ME SOME OF THE GREATEST STUFF WHITE WINES HAVE TO OFFER! Can find great values with stellar quality.

  • talksnmaths5

    Hey Gary! Watched the game. I definitely feel for ya. As a Pats fan who lives in Indianapolis I probably hate the Colts even more than you do. Manning is a d-bag. Also, as a graduate of Purdue University, I am pulling hard for the Brees to put the smackdown in Miami. So, here's to who dat in the superbowl.

  • canadajay

    tantalus

  • JiminAtlanta

    Alsace is one of my favorite wine regions to drink the wines and to visit. I have probably tried 10 Reislings from Alsace and need to try more soon. I also like gewurtztraminer and pinot gris from Alsace. My favorite non-wine beverage is beer. A Belgian tripel with mussels and frites is wonderful.

  • Waltraud

    I've not tried any Alsatian white wines but I've tried Riesling from Germany and WA state.

    Augustiner Helles Beer with Weisswurst, potato salad, a huge pretzel and Obazda cheese.

  • Haven't had too much Reisling, but I like what I've had. I'll definitely be drinking more.
    Favorite non-wine beverage is either iced tea or Newcastle, both of which are good with anything, but I like a good quality pizza.

  • markuspeloquin

    QOTD: Espresso + Clif bar = Master's degree.

  • ben from boston

    vodka and a pickle
    pilsner and a fish sandwich
    pale ale and a burger
    wine and cheese and bread
    sake and sushi
    oh and milk and cookies.

    probably not a good idea to have them all at the same time.

    and by the way, i refuse to believe that your jets loss was more disappointing than the pats embarrassing, downright shameful display in round 1.

  • jrod2010

    coors light and buffalo wings for days. you the man Gary, love your show and just finished your book. my friend got it for me for christmas. thanks for helping us understand wine better its a cool thing. keep rockin.

  • stancolts_2010

    You are such a big baby. We all know you cheer for the team that your team lost to. The Colts were superior that day and hopefully will be superior on SuperBowl Sunday. I'm sorry you are a sore loser…. remember everyone hates a sore loser. Now on a positive note, this was a great wine show, at least you know your wines. Best match is baked Ruffles and Arrogant Bastard… can eat and drink it all night.

  • toddfromboston

    Gary, even as a lifelong Pats fan I was rooting for your Jets; partially because I thought it was a good story, partly because I can't stand the Colts, and part of me was hoping they would win for Gary's sake. Anyhow, I started listening to your podcast in fall of 2008, and haven't missed an episode since. I'm passionate when it comes to learning about wine and trying new wine, so thank you for helping me with this! As for the pairing…Cheez-Its and Apple Juice.

  • Weston3220

    Btw Gerolsteiner mineral water is crushed rocks….you were beat out sorry

    qotd:Tea, Black Tea, After Dinner with a Cake or Dessert or something like that

  • Anonymous

    The governement in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and some other provinces in Canada is the sole provider of wine and spirits. We do find wine in grocery stores but they are not the same quality. Beer is different you can find it everywhere.

  • norbrook

    So great to hear about wines from the Alsace region, have enjoyed their pinots quite a bit.
    QOTD: Yeungling and Chipotle, oh yeah.

  • huskerjamie

    Beer brat with mustard and an IPA.

  • I definitely need to try the gewurztraminer – sounds epic.

  • A Belgian white ale with a really good burger. I mean a really good burger. That kind of burger that makes you make funny noises that make the other restaurant patrons uncomfortable. My personal favorite beer for this is Allagash White, from Portland, ME. Delicious stuff.

  • jsums

    Thank you for the show. I haven't had many Alsatian Rieslings to be honest. I am a lover of the Kabinetts from MSR and Rheingau, though. I need to try more from Alsace. QOTD – A small-batch Bourbon, neat, with pecan pie, vanilla bean ice cream, and bacon crumbles…heaven. Oh, and Gary, I know you don't want to hear it, but the Jets do have a brilliant future. I'm a Hoosier and a huge Colts fan (though I live in NYC now and root for the Jets as well). I was at the game on Sunday and enjoyed the matchup. Mark my words: the Jets will win a Superbowl in the Rex Ryan era. It WILL happen.

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